Everyday over 50,000 airplanes are guided safely through the air. The new air traffic control teams are becoming digitally savvy using more high tech software and tools to do their job more efficiently for the safety of all of us.

The air traffic control team works much like a software development team, where there are many defined roles, all very important to complete the mission.

For example, different types of air flight controllers take control of the flight throughout the planes journey to it's destination, from departure gate to arrival gate. (Think of the plane as an application) It is a very complex process just like the software development process.

Clearing each flight from the gate to the runway involves several steps and teams of people working together. The pilot calls for clearance and will receive clearance from the ground controller, who will take the pilot to the appropriate runway and will put the plane in line for take off. The ground controller will also manage any factors affecting the flight such as weather.

The local controller will take the aircraft and issue the "take off clearance", to get the pilot airborne. Once the aircraft is airborne, the tower control contacts departure control and the flight is handed off to Tracon, who's job it is to get the plane through all the other aircraft in the area, track the plane to it's flight cruising altitude, and onto it's destination. Then a regional air route center then takes control.

Oh by the way, there are project manager types managing all this. Sound familiar?

IBM Software tools serve as an air traffic control system for IT. Development teams like air traffic controllers need to use the most up to date efficient tools and team tools to provide security and safety. We all need to create a smarter planet in everything we do. As software developers there are some awesome development tools available to help us create this smarter planet through software. We need to work efficiently and smarter in our global software development teams, as we hand code over from one team to the other. The key thing is communication, just like the flight controllers. Using development tools that help us communicate to our team members better, will help us develop better quality software in less time.

Check out these demos on how teams can use development tools to improve the communication through the development process:

Change management with IBM Rational ClearQuest and ClearCase, Part 1

This demo shows you how to integrate IBM® Rational® ClearQuest® and ClearCase® into a integrated change management solution. The deployed Web banking application is tested for defects. Once the test manager discovers the defect, the manager walks through the submission process. The defect is reviewed and assigned to a developer (Alex in the demo) by the project manager. Once the defect is assigned to the developer, he works to resolve the defect utilizing IBM Rational Application Developer, ClearQuest, and ClearCase. This is the first of a two part demo series. Demo

Change management with IBM Rational ClearQuest and ClearCase, Part 2

This demo continues where part 1 left off. It follows the developer (Alex) as he works on resolving the defect submitted to him. Alex uses IBM Rational Application Developer with plug-ins for ClearQuest and ClearCase. First, you'll see Alex's to-do list that contains submitted high severity defects assigned to him. Next, Alex connects to the ClearCase server and changes the code to correct the defect. Then Alex verifies his changes by running the application within his IDE. Finally, Alex checks in his changes and transition the state of the defect from open to resolved using ClearQuest. This is the second of a two part demo series. Demo

We have seen a growing interest in database management systems that differ from the traditional relational model. At the heart of this is the concept of NoSQL, a term used collectively to denote database software that does not use the Structured Query Language (SQL) to interact with the database. One of the more notable NoSQL projects out there is MongoDB, an open source document-oriented database that stores data in collections of JSON-like documents. What sets MongoDB apart from other NoSQL databases is its powerful document-based query language, which makes the transition from a relational database to MongoDB easy because the queries translate quite easily.

MongoDB is a scalable, high-performance, document-oriented schemaless database. In this short demo, long-time developerWorks contributor Andrew Glover introduces MongoDB, provides a quick tour of its use, and helps you understand where it's most applicable.